Latvia has banned three Russian entertainers due to perform here this week over their pro-Kremlin stance on the Ukraine crisis, the foreign minister said on Monday. "The most active propagandists - there's no other way to describe them - will be denied entry to Latvia," Edgars Rinkevics told public broadcaster Latvian Radio in the former Soviet republic.
The black-listed pop stars "aggressively" support Russia's March annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Rinkevics said. A foreign ministry statement confirmed the names of the three individuals as Oleg Gazmanov, Iosif Kobzon and Alla Perfilova, better known as Valeriya. "Of course, people can say whatever they like, but I want to give a clear signal that people who spread such views are not welcome in a European Union member," Rinkevics said. "There is no enclave in the European Union where these people can continue their propaganda." Anhelita Kamenska of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights questioned why the three were being "singled out" when other performers were not.
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